It Happens!

This past weekend, Pastor Shelly playfully called Matthew 5:48 the “Perfectionists Creed.” That makes sense because Matthew reports Jesus speaking in the Sermon on the Mount: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Yet, Pastor Shelly shared that the perfection Jesus was talking about was less about moral excellence and more about living into the kind of people that God calls us to be, people willing to not only love our neighbors but our enemies as well. That’s hard work. It’s not easy. In fact, it goes against our nature, our very imperfect nature. But when we find ourselves wrestling with Jesus’ teachings, we find that in Christ’s name “it happens.”

In today’s urban dictionary, the phrase “it happens” is usually a statement of abandon. But for people of faith who are called to see the good, and to be the good, we know God can work in every circumstance. Trusting that our perfection comes only by grace, through faith, for Christ’s sake, we begin to see others, our world, and even ourselves differently. In Christ’s name, it happens. Love conquers hate. Friends are made from enemies. Hope erases fear. Even life comes out of death. It happens. In Christ’s name, it happens.

In the week to come, may it happen both for you and through you!

Blessings, Pastor Mark

This Wednesday’s Fellowship Meal menu is Taco Bar. Dinner begins at 6pm. All are welcome!

(Men, come early and consider attending a Men’s Health Presentation at 6:30pm in the Quiet Room.)

You are invited! Jazz Concert this coming Sunday, 4pm, featuring traditional Dixieland and Swing from the “New Orleans Nighthawks.”